TIIE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTXAXD, A OVraiBEK
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BY FRANK G. CARPENTER,
i WRITE this In the golden capita! of
I Bouth Africa. Johannesburg rests
on a reef out of which has been
taken $900,000,006 worth of the pre
cious metal, and which is supposed to
have two or thcee billions left. There
is more gold about It than about any
other city of the world, and more Is
coming from it than from any other
gold region. Johannesburg is the Den
ver of Africa, and. like our Denver, it
la about a mile above the sea. In
deed. It Is eycn higher than the great
mining city on the edge of the Rockies.
It Is close to 6000 feet, and If you could
stretch a wire about the earth at Its
altitude. It would almost cut the top
of Mount Washington.
Denver ft. JoIiann6bnx;.
Denver and Johannesburg have many
things In common.- They are both on
Mgh plains and not far from bleak,
eml-deserts. They are both In the
bearts of the continents to which they
belong. Denver Is about half way
across the United States. It is a little
bit over the edge, perhaps, veering
toward the west, which, after all. is
the best part of our big country. Jo
hannesburg Is about half way between
the Atlantic and Indian Oceana, and it
Is farther north of the Cape of Good
Hone than Sandy Hook Is east of
Chicago. Its nearest port Is Delagoa
Bay, on the Indian Ocean, which is
about 400 miles distant, and It can also
be reached by rail from Durban, which
in a little more than $0 miles farther.
Both cities are based upon gold, and
re fed by the mines. The territories
which support Denver He In the Rocky
Mountains at Ita back, extending a
long distance to the north and south.
Those which, support Johannesburg are
Tight under the city, and they run in
m great narrow strip east and west.
They consist of several veins, covering
distance of ISO miles. The best part
of the whole haa only a length of 0
miles, and it Is right In the center of
this that Johannesburg Is situated.
Eome of the houses are built over gold
mines, and the streets run over land
which has been honeycombed with tun
ne'.s and filled up again, after the gold
has been taken out, for fear that the
buildings might fall In. When one
climbs to the roofs of the houses of
this cltv he can see the smokestacks
of the mines extending east and west
almost as far aa the eye can reach.
There are little white mountains .of
tailings standing out upon the land
scape In either direction, and these
mountains come right to' the city It
self. Founded by Miner.
Both cities were founded by miners.
Denver was started In 1858. just a half
century ago. Johannesburg dates back
only to 1SSS. The land about both cities
was considered almost worthless until
the mines were discovered. The ground
upon which New Tork stands was
once sold for a half peck of glass
beads and brass buttons: the site of
Melbourne was bought for a pair of
old blankets and the foundation of all
Chicago was offered for a pair of cow
hide boots. In early days there was a
1000-acre farm on the site of Johannes
burg, and It was sold for a team of
broken-down oxen. Today the land and
buildings which stand on that farm
axe assessed at about a quarter of a
out 1
dol-
bllllon dollars, and from It goes
more than one hundred million
lars worth of gold every year. In
January, 1955, two business lots, not
far from where that farmer's hut stood,
brought $110,030. and It Is only four
years since the Standard Bank of South
Africa purchased the land upon which
it has erected a building worth
three-quarters of a million. A lot on
Pritchard street sold for $200,000 about
nine years ago, and there are business
locations here so valuable that one
would have to cover them with bank
notes to buy them. This Is so now,
notwithstanding that times are hard
and business is decidedly dull.
And still Johannesburg Is only about 21
years old. When our boys who are to
cast their first votes at the coming Pres
idential election were raw, red babies the
country about here was a wilderness and
a waste, covered with grass during a few
months of the year and a bleak and
burned desert for the remainder. It was
then in its beginning as a mining camp,
and Its most striking features were can
vas tents, mud huts and ox wagons. The
first lots were then selling for a few shil
lings apiece, and It was not until eome
time that buildings of tin and galvanised
iron began to rise.
The Johannesburg of Today.
The Johannesburg of today Is made of
steel, stone and wood. It has many five
and six-story structures, although the
skyscrapers of Denver are absent. It is
not as well built -as Denver, but It Is a
magnificent city considering Its source of
supplies and that It Is away off here In
the wllde. The town has just about the
same population aa Denver. It numbers
about 150.000 souls, but 60,000 of these are
blacks made up of Kaffirs from all parts
of South Africa.
Johannesburg Is laid out somewhat like
Denver. Ite streets generally cross each
other at right angles, and they run far
out Into the country. There are some
thing like 800 miles of roadways, and the
tpwn altogether has a municipal area of
more than 80 square miles. There are
town lots far out Into the country and
enough streets have been planned to ac
commodate the growth of the next 100
years.
Denver has as good a streetcar system
as any city of its else in the world. Its
electric lines cover every part of the
municipality and reach far into the coun
try beyond. Johannesburg has about the
best car system of South Africa, and the
lines belong to the municipality. I un
derstand that they pay well and leave a
big profit every year in the city treasury.
The streetcars are all double-deckers.
There is a covered compartment on the
roof, and. for a "ticket" that Is, 3 pence
you can go to any part of the city or
Its suburbs.
I do not know how muny churches Den
ver has. The city Is supposed to be
wicked, but I venture there Is no denom
ination in the United States which has
not at least one house of God there. The
same Is true of this Baal-worshiping town
of the Transvaal. It produces enough of
the yellow metal to make a big herd ef
golden calves, every year, but neverthe
less it keeps the Sabbath and has no end
of Protestant and Catholic churches. The
English Church will hold 1100 people and
It cost over $200,000 to build. There Is also
a large Jewish synagogue, about 30 free
masonry lodges and some other semi-re-ligious
organizations.
Aa to amusements, these South African
towns pay more attention to such things
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start. This ta no place to wait for a
Job. Indeed. I doubt if there Is anywhere
in the world where the bare necessities
of existence cost so much. Houses which
would rent for $15 a month In any city
of this size In the United States, cost
here from $25 to $50 a month; and bach
elor livings that Is, board and lodging
run from $35 to $50 per month per
head. ' Clothing Is dearer than in our
country, and as to such luxuries as
drinks and cigars, the charges are enor
mous. Any kind of a bottle of ginger
ale costs 25 cents, and at the better res
taurants the price of a Scotch highball
Is a half dollar. I have paid 25 cents for
a small glass of mineral water and , 37
cents for a glass of lemonade.
The rates at the Carlton Hotel, where
I am stopping, are about the same as
those of the best hotels of New York,
and It seems to me that the face of
Queen Victoria on the golden sovereign.
than we do In America. Johannesburg
has athletic grounds which cover 30 acres.
Including fields for cricketing, bicycling
and golfing. There Is a lady's bicycle
track and outside the city limits there Is
a race course, where races are periodical1
ly held throughout the year. At the Sum
mer and Winter handicaps, the prizes
amount to $12,000 or more, and there is a
meeting each season, when the races last
for three days.' The town has a turf club
and social clubs of various kinds. It has
a recreation and concert hall which will
hold 2500. I think Its citizens pay more
attention to fun than we do. There is no
business done after noon Saturday, and
the people then go to the races and club
grounds. The city has fairly good thea
ters. "It has a public library, a university
and excellent schools.
Sixty Thousand Blacks.
Johannesburg has. In proportion, a
larger colored population than Washing
ton. It has 60,000 or 70,000 natives, made
up of Kaffirs, Basutos and other negroes
of this part of the world. The blacks
are not allowed to vote, and they have
little to do except as workers for the
whites. They have far less rights than
our negroes, although they dress and look
much the same. The Kaffir here rides
In a separate car, a little open trailer,
which Is attached to the rear of the
trains for his accommodation. In going
along the streets the negroes must keep
off the pavements and walk only on the
edge of the roadway or In the middle of
the streets. He has his own churches
and schools, and the whites expect him
to keen to them.
About the only municipal positions that
the blacks have are as assistant police
men. They are dressed in uniforms, and
carry clubs, which are more like shllla
lahs than our police clubs at home. The
Kaffirs also act as jinriksha men. They
have little vlctorla-Uke two-wheeled car
riages. In which they pull one about for
12 cents per mile or 75 cents per hour.
The Jinriksha men are mostly Zulus,
and they are among the queerest natives'
I have yet seen. They dress their hair in
all sorts of ways, making It stand otit
from their heads in great rolls or horns.
Not a few of them have real cow horns
so fastened to their heads that they seem
to grow there, the roots of the horns
being hidden In the wool. These men
wear breeches which reach half way down
the thigh, leaving the lower part of the
legs end feet bare. They paint the bare
portions with whitewash.
The Unemployed Whites.
Of the 90.000 whites In Johannesburg
about 60,000 are males and the remainder
females. In other words, there are about
30.000 more men than women, and a large
part of the former are bachelors who
have come here to seek their fortunes.
Many of these drifted In here at the
time of the war and were soldiers In the
Boer or English armies. When peace
was declared the country was booming,
and for a while they found plenty to do.
At that time Johannesburg was growing
like a green bay tree. Many new build
ings were going up, .real estate values
rose out of sight, and everything was
planned on the basis of Johannesburg be
coming a second Chicago. The money
paid In Indemnities and for the repairs
necessitated by the war brought thou
sands of pounds Into circulation, and the
demand for labor far exceeded the supJ
ply. Mechanics were Imported by the
shipload, and wages rose. Carpenters got
$5 per day and other mechanics propor
tionately high wages. Then the bottom
fell out. It was found that the country
was overpeopled and that the towns were
overbuilt The new business blocks could
not be rented, and the values of proserty
fell. Houses which were worth $75,000
four years ago can be bought for from
$25,000 to $50,000 today, and rents have
proportionately fallen.
When the boom burst thousands of men
were thrown out of work, and there are
thousands of mechanics In South. Africa
who are now a burden on the com
munity. ' "
A White Man's Job.
It must be remembered that there is a
prejudice here against the white man
doing what Is considered the black man's
work. There are many whites who would
be glad to go into the mines at about a
dollar a day, which Is the Kafir's wage,
but the trades unions and the people are
against It. There are about six times as
many blacks as whites in South Africa,
and the whites feel that they must keep
up their standing as the superior race in
order to hold their own. So far the white
men act largely as overseers. They do
but little hard work, and after they have
been In the country but a short time,
they get the Idea that hard work te de
grading, and turn all Jobs of coarse
manual labor over to the Kafirs. Some
of the whites have said, I understand,
that they will not labor for less than a
living wage, and that amount is consid
ered to be at least 10 shillings or $2.50
per day. So you have a lot of reduced
gentleman mechanics down on their up
pers and half starving out hers In this
land, which Is producing more gold and
diamonds than any other part of the
world.
Xo Place for Americans.
1 do not think this Is a good place for
Americans without capital. There are a
large number of our skilled specialists,
such as mining and mechanical engineers,
who do well, but even such men should
fcive a lob contracted for baton thav
the coin which IS universally used here,
turns pale whenever I look at it and or
der a meal. I suppose the old lady
knows she Is going to leave me.
Like Tantalns.
Indeed, the situation of these people
makes me think of Tantalus, who was
condemned to stand up to his chin In
water under a loaded fruit tree and see
fruit and water retreating every time he
sought to satisfy his hunger and thirst,
or of the poor little boy whose face Is
pressed against the glass of the candy
store windows as he hungrily eyes the
sweetmeats within. Johannesburg Is sur
rounded by gold, bedded on gold, with
gold extending 30 miles on each side
of It. It is pouring out one hundred and
twenty odd millions of gold dollars every
13 months, and for the past 10 years It
has been flooding the globe. Neverthe
less Its people are poor, and the most of
the treasures they dig from their soil go
to the nabobs of England and the stock
companies of Kurope. It Is somewhat
like Ireland, a country of absentee land
lords, and its people are the white and
black slaves of these faraway million
aires. In addition to this, the country is
cursed by the cheap native and Chinese
labor supply. It would be far better off 11
It turned out less gold and diamonds at a
high wage rate and the wages were spent
at home.
South Africa in Debt.
As a result of this boom and Its col
lapse, the South Africans are deeply in
debt. Both farms and business blocks
are plastered with mortgages, and Inter
est rates are comparatively high. The
people are optimistic, and they have all
the push of the pioneers " in a fast de
veloping country. They overestimated
everything at the time of the war and
branched out upon credit. During the
fight with the Boers money flowed like
water. England's purse-strings were
opened and a golden shower rained down
on the Transvaal. New institutions of
all kinds were created. Expenses were
enormously increased and everything
was planned as though the war appro
priations and the large war population
were to continue forever. This was not
confined to Johannesburg, but the boom
extended to Cape Town, Durban and all
the towns of South Africa. Durban put
up buildings to accommodate 100.000 peo
ple, and It has now less than 60.000. while
this town could take care of 60,000 more
without overfilling Its houses.
South Africa's Small Population.
Indeed, South Africa Is much bigger In
the eyes of the world than it Is in reality.
The whole country has not as many white
people as Philadelphia, and In this I
might Include all the whites who live
south of the equator. Nevertheless, there
are- banks here with capitals of millions.
There are several thousand miles of rail
road and there are a half dozen cities
with great ports and costly Improve
ments. The wonder Is not that South
Africa is hard up. It Is really a wonder
that It Is at all.
Johannesburg, South Africa.
Seem to Have Human Nerves
On Certain Bad Days They An. All of a Quiver and
Spread Unrest Everywhere. ,
THREE women In a popular New
York tearoom the other afternoon
had just welcomed a belated
friend. As the newcomer received her
cup of tea her hand shook so that the
china rattled.
"That's what comes of being In a
hospital on one of its bad days," she
said with a little laugh. "Every nerve
I have Is quivering."
"Did anything happen?" asked a par
ticularly placid member of the group.
"Happen! Something always hap
pens in a hospital. But the queer
thing about It Is that no matter what
happens the general atmosphere will
be quite calm and cheerful until all of
a sudden a day comes when the whole
Institution seems to be as I am now, all
of a nervous quiver.
"You know I've been spending most
of my time lately with my mother In
the hospital. She is getting along nicely
and I read to her or we talk, and occa
sionally I make a little round of calls
In the rooms near hers and bring back
news to her of her neighbors, most of
whom she has never seen.
"Generally there is something rather
restful to me In being there. The
nurses go about quickly and cheerfully,
the doctor comes with his morning
joke, one sees flowers and visitors go
ing to the different rooms and one has
a feeling of hopefulness about every
body. '
"One gets used even to the smell of
the disinfectants and to the occasional
moans. If these are especially bad
you say cheerfully:
"Somebody's coming out from under
the anesthetic. He'll feel better soon.
"You hear a nurse humming to her
self along the hall, and on mother's
floor there Is a young fellow, operated
on for apendlcitis a little while ago,
who whistles softly when he can't
think of anything else to do. All the
doors stand open, and the whole life of
the institution seems to be going
smoothly and pleasantly.
"Then all of a sudden everything is
changed. I knew this morning the mo
ment I got above the ffrst floor-that
things were not going well.
"Most of the doors were closed.
Mother was trying in vain to tell two
nurses how to place her In a comforta
ble position. They couldn't get her
fixed right. Of course they couldn't.
This was the day when nothing was
right for anybody.
"She let them go when I came in. but
she was in the stata of nerves where
she jumped almost out of her bandages
when a nurse dropped a dish some
where down the hall. Nurses always
drop things on such days anyway.
"I hadnt been In the room two min
utes before a walling moan began next
door.. The two rooms had a communi
cating door, though why in the name
of all that is sensible it should have
been put there I don't know. At any
rate it made the moans from the next
door quite as audible as If they had
been In our own room.
"I went to the door to close It. A
nurse rushed by with a nervous preoccu
pied expression. The house doctor
passed with scarcely a good .orning.
"I could hear the bells ringing in the
nurses' room at the end of the hall, as
if every patient on the floor had a An
ger on the pushbutton and meant to
keep it there till a response came.
"I went back Into the room, but the
moaning next door went on and on till
I thought I should scream myself. I
had left the transom open and I could
hear nurses scurrying up and down
the hall, low exclamations, doors open
ing and shutting, the rumble of tn
cart bringing a patient from the opera
ting room.
"I saw the head nurse before I came
away and asked her if there had been
anything unusual In the way of opera
tions, or If any patient had died, or
anything really out of the ordinary
happened. Not a thing! It was Just a
bad day.
"They come about once In so often
and its like a zoo then. You've been
In a menagerie when a sort of wave of
unrest goes through it, haven't youT
It spreads from cage to cage until all
the animals are bowling or roaring or
snapping, and even the crowd gets ner
vous and the keepers are cross and
there Is a general powwonfc
"Well," with a sigh of exhaustion,
"that's the way It is ir a hospital on a
bed day, and this one has tuckered ma
clean out."
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